Fashion Design

This dynamic course cultivates the design creativity, individual style and personal vision of participants while they respond to the rapidly evolving landscape of fashion through a series of project-based activities that reflect different aspects of industry practice. In this way, participants are challenged to develop their thinking about fashion – what it is and what it can become – to realise their full potential, while gaining advanced fashion design skills together with industry preparation. Participants graduate with an understanding of their unique identity as designers and of their position in the fashion industry based on market intelligence. 

Participants will already have experience in fashion design, pattern cutting, garment making and portfolio creation in order to successfully meet the challenges of this course in conceptual research, design development and experimentation, professional project development, collection development and marketing and personal branding.

They are encouraged to work experimentally with the shape and construction of garments, with the use of renewable and sustainable resources and to devise imaginative ways of working with materials and techniques - the true, creative artisan of fashion combined with the excellence that is “Italianness”; internationally acclaimed craftsmanship, design and style.

The strong design and practical elements of the course run alongside contextual, theoretical, conceptual and forward-looking perspectives, leading to a dissertation project accompanied by individually proposed practical work such as a fashion artefact or capsule collection. Istituto Marangoni’s professional links include guest industry speakers that provide participants with insight into the realities and the opportunities of fashion.

Working to design briefs that present exciting and challenging opportunities to develop and extend your skills – and in response to new developments in the industry or new potentialities - fashion design classes will be supported and sometimes fluidly integrated with practical workshop sessions that enhance your understanding of the design process (in 2D and 3D), and how to both innovate and refine your ideas for specific markets and/or local or global imperatives. In this way, you will cultivate your skills as a critical fashion design practitioner that is equipped with the problem-solving abilities required to address foreseen and unforeseen challenges and opportunities.

Within this carefully structured framework, you will be expected to work with increasing imagination, creativity and autonomy and to progress your learning and project work substantially outside of class, as well as your understanding of what fashion is and what it might become. The programme primarily focuses on womenswear but recognises the limitations of this term and therefore is open to genderless fashion and other expressions of contemporary clothing. In addition, this programme supports the formation of the collaborative and multidisciplinary skills and perspectives that are now considered essential to the future.

As the course progresses, emphasis is placed increasingly upon your design vision and your practice-based research, as you extend and refine your personal design identity and develop a personal design manifesto. The course culminates in a substantial dissertation project that may comprise a small, capsule collection supported by a written dissertation.